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Teen rape suspect in trouble before

CLYDE
One of the boys accused in the rape of a 14-year-old Clyde girl was previously accused of hurt

JACOB LAMMERS

May 24, 2010

CLYDE

One of the boys accused in the rape of a 14-year-old Clyde girl was previously accused of hurting a 4-year-old girl by tying a rope around her neck.

The 14-year-old Clyde boy was charged earlier this week with complicity to commit rape and kidnapping of the 14-year-old girl on Jan. 15. His pretrial hearing is at 11 a.m. today at Sandusky County Juvenile Court.

In November 2006 the boy, then 13, admitted he tied a rope around a Fremont girl's neck and pulled it tight, according to the Clyde Police Department. He said the rope was similar to a jump rope.

The girl's mother contacted police after noticing her daughter had marks on her neck, the report said.

According to the report, the incident happened at a Clyde home, where the boy and the girl's stepbrother, Ryan Mann, were baby-sitting.

The boy tied the rope around the 4-year-old's neck and then the girl fell, tightening the rope, Mann said in the report.

"From what I remember he was just playing around," said Mann, now 17. "She started crying, so I went over to help her and took it off."

Mann, who now lives in Fremont, said a mark was visible, but "not bad."

The boy told police he was just "playing a game" and admitted he "went too far and tied the rope tightly around her neck," the report said.

He apologized for the incident and said he "did not intend on causing injury" to the girl, the report said.

The report said charges could be filed by the Sandusky County Juvenile Prosecutor Beth Tischler, who was not available for comment because she is on maternity leave. Sandusky County Prosecutor Tom Stierwalt also could not be reached for comment.

In Jan. 15 incident, the boy is accused of holding down the 14-year-old girl's arms while another teen allegedly raped her. At one point, the boy inappropriately touched the girl two to three times, according to the police reports.

The girl repeatedly told both boys to "Stop" and "Get off," reports said.

Mann said he's grown up with the boy his whole life and did not know he was capable of such violence.

"I was really upset when I found out about this," Mann said. "I consider him my little brother.

"I have no idea why he did it. It just doesn't seem like him," he added.

Mann said his friend is a shy person, and the other boys could have "peer pressured" him into it.

Since the boy's parents divorced, his home life has been pretty rough, Mann said.

"I can almost see it now because he was so bottled up inside, but it doesn't seem like he would go that far," Mann said.

The boy's mother declined to comment Thursday.

The 4-year-old girl's parents could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Three other 14-year-old boys -- all from Clyde -- were charged in the rape case. One was charged with rape and kidnapping, while the others were charged with complicity to commit rape and kidnapping.

The case

* Four 14-year-old Clyde boys were charged this week in the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl.

* One boy was charged with rape and kidnapping, while the other three were charged with complicity to commit rape and kidnapping.

* One of the other three boys was accused of hurting a 4-year-old Fremont girl in November 2006. The boy allegedly "tightened" a rope, similar to a jump rope, around the girl's neck. It is unclear whether the boy was charged in the incident.